After a few seconds, Stryker felt himself land on cold dirt. He blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light now that the portal had vanished. He grunted, and got to his knees, and then slowly stood up, looking around.

He was surrounded by tall grey mountains. Above, the nighttime sky had a purple tinge, as a moon peeked out over a mountaintop. He realized he was standing on a mountain pass that branched out before him. The path to his right led down the mountain, twisting down out of sight. The path to his left led upwards, to a castle about half a mile away. That's gotta be Dracula's castle, he thought. He took a step towards the left hand path, and stopped. There was something coming up the path behind him.

He quickly looked behind him. The path snaked downwards and around a large rock formation. Whatever was coming up the path was behind the rocks and hadn't seen him. He frantically looked around, seeking cover. Noticing a large boulder to the left, he sprinted towards it and slipped behind it. As he waited, he heard the sound of large animals breathing hard and what sounded like a large carriage. The sounds passed by the boulder, and Stryker decided to risk looking. He peeked around the boulder, and saw a large carriage being pulled by two beasts of burden, making its way down the right hand path. He noticed a banner waving off the top of the carriage, adorned with the outline of a helmet with a skull face and two wing-like blades at the top. Stryker instantly recognized it as Shao Kahn's standard.

So much for Kahn not having any influence here, he thought grimly. The carriage slowly moved down the path, and went around another rock formation, disappearing from sight. Stryker sighed, and walked back onto the path. He grimaced, and started making his way up the path to his left.

As he approached the castle, he noticed that along the path, on either side, large wooden staves had been placed, spaced several feet apart. The staves were tall, probably ten feet in height, and the tops were sharpened to a point. He idly wondered as to their purpose.

Before long, he had reached the outer gates of the castle. He stepped up to the large portcullis, and grumbled. The heavy ironwork was shut, and he saw no way to lift it, nor were there any means of notifying anyone that he was there. In desperation, he even looked at the stone walls, hoping there might even be a ladder or handholds to climb with. There were none; a second later he chided himself for such ridiculousness. What's the point of having a large barrier if it's going to be easy to bypass, huh?

He stood there for a minute, thinking. Finally, he shrugged, and called out, ``Anybody in there?''

He didn't expect a response. In fact, he felt slightly foolish for having done so. It's not like anyone is listening, he thought glumly. To his surprise, about twenty seconds later, the portcullis began raising slowly, apparently of its own volition. As soon as it was raised high enough for him to enter, he quickly ducked under it and made his way into the courtyard.

He was in for another surprise. He had expected someone to meet him or at least be visible to him when he entered the castle's courtyard. Instead, there wasn't a soul in sight. He caught sight of a black carriage nearby, but from the dust and dirt it appeared to have been in disuse for some time. In addition, there were no lights coming from the castle itself. If he didn't know better, he would say the castle had been abandoned for some time.

He shrugged, and made his way to the main doors. The doors were large and wooden, with ornate carvings of dragons along the sides. He experimentally tried the ornate metal door handle, and found it turned easily. He pulled the door open, and stepped inside.

He had expected to enter into darkness. Instead, the large main hall was lit by moonlight shining in from the large glass windows above. Ahead of him, a large carpeted staircase rose to a balcony overlooking the main hall. He took a step forward, and stopped as the main doors closed with a loud bang behind him. He turned in surprise.

``It seems I have an uninvited guest,'' a deep voice sounded from behind Stryker. Stryker groaned inwardly. Is this going to be any more cliche? he thought sourly. He turned back around.

He had halfway expected someone who looked like he should be from the old Dracula films: average age, short slicked-back black hair, average height, pale skin, and an old tuxedo with a cape. Instead, the person standing at the top of the stairs looked like an old man, with thick white hair, thick eyebrows, and a long white mustache. He was thin but tall. His clothing was black, with a high collared tunic, slacks, and a pair of boots. A pair of large bat-like wings rose up off the man's back. His eyes regarded Stryker with a baleful expression. Despite himself, Stryker took a step back; the man's force presence was undeniable.

``Dracula?'' Stryker asked tentatively.

``I am he,'' the man replied evenly. He started slowly descending the staircase. ``I had told your master that I would kill any further envoys to me.''

Stryker blinked. ``My master?'' he asked. His hand dropped to his gun, placing it against the hilt.

Dracula sneered. ``You are not the first human to have come here. Do you honestly plan on playing dumb about your `emperor'?''

Stryker raised an eyebrow. This might explain a great deal. ``Hold on,'' he said, fishing his badge out and holding it up for Dracula to see. ``My name is Kurtis Stryker. I'm with the Central City Police Department in Earthrealm, and I'm here as an emissary from the Elder Gods.''

Dracula stopped, his eyes wide in surprise. ``The Elder Gods?'' he asked.

``Yeah,'' Stryker said. ``I don't know about any other humans you might have met here, especially any working for Shao Kahn, but Raiden sent me to have a word with you.''

Dracula stared at Stryker, as if looking into his soul. For his part, Stryker met his gaze evenly. He supposed it might be dangerous, given the legends about vampires and their powers of hypnotism, but he was damned if he was going to let this guy intimidate him.

Finally, Dracula grudgingly said, ``Very well, Kurtis Stryker. I believe you. More, your status as an emissary protects you from my wrath. What is it the Elder Gods wish of me?''

Stryker took a deep breath. ``Well, we want to know what you're thinking sending vampires to Earthrealm in violation of the Elder Gods' law.''

Dracula looked at him in shock. A moment later, his face contorted into a fury like which Stryker had not seen since the invasion, when he happened to see a band of Tarkatans on the loose. ``HOW DARE YOU!'' he thundered. He leaped into the air, and came landing right in front of Stryker. He raised to his full height, and quickly closed the distance between himself and Stryker.

``How dare you accuse me of breaking the Elder Gods' decree!'' Dracula shouted. Stryker didn't flinch. ``I have no desire to see my people wiped out. I will not stand for your dishonorable deceit!''

Stryker met the rage with a stone-like expression. Finally, he dug into his pocket, and pulled out the neckchain from the vampire he had killed. ``How do you explain this, then?'' he asked coolly.

Dracula's eyes moved to the chain. He stared at it for a second, and his expression changed to one of recognition. He then looked back at Stryker, and doubtfully asked, ``Where did you get this from?''

``Earthrealm,'' Stryker answered. ``The owner of this crystal was attempting to flee with my partner. I shot the crystal, and its shattering closed the portal on its owner, killing him. Since then, we've had two other vampires crossing over and killing people.''

Dracula stepped back, a look of contemplation on his face. Stryker watched him, and thought, I bet he's not the one behind this. But if not him... who?

Dracula finally sighed. ``Once again, I believe you, Stryker,'' he said. ``However, you must understand. I have not sent these vampires to Earthrealm.''

``I believe you,'' Stryker said. He took his hand off his gun, and crossed his arms. ``Problem is, how are they crossing over undetected?''

Dracula's face darkened. ``I believe I can answer that. As stated before, an emissary of Shao Kahn came here before. He promised us a method of crossing over to Earthrealm to feed to our hearts' content without the Elder Gods' knowledge. In return, he wanted an artifact of mine.''

``And you said no?'' Stryker asked.

``Of course,'' Dracula stated. ``I am no fool, Stryker. I know from first-hand experience after my last trip to your realm that no matter how hard we try to cover our tracks, something will happen to reveal our presence. Your being here is proof of that. More, I had no intention of giving Kahn the Inselaciune Stone.''

``The Inselaciune Stone,'' Stryker repeated. ``Isn't that what you used to fake your death at Van Helsing's hands?''

``Yes,'' Dracula said. ``I see the Elder Gods told you of my last visit. With the use of a quantity of blood, it creates a clone of the bearer. That way, my enemies were convinced of my death, unaware that I still lived, out of their reach.''

Stryker nodded, and then a nasty thought occurred to him. ``Uh, Dracula,'' he said, ``if vampires are crossing over, and the price was the stone, doesn't that mean...?''

Dracula's eyes widened, and then he swiftly spun and ran down a hallway to the left of the staircase. Stryker hurried after him, following him down the dusty stone hall, until he reached a set of double doors. Stryker entered, to see Dracula on the other side of the room. The room was an obvious armory, with swords and spears hung on the walls. Dracula was kneeling in front of an open chest, pulling out a wooden box. He opened the box, gazed inside it for a moment, and then tossed it aside, with an angry howl.

``It's gone!'' Dracula hissed furiously. ``Those traitors have stolen it!''

Great, Stryker thought to himself. ``I don't suppose you know who those traitors are?'' he asked.

Dracula spun around, his face a mask of anger. ``I do,'' he growled. ``The crystal you possess was owned by Vitarn. While my kind are solitary beings, he associated with two others named Taris and Selica. They will pay for their insolence!''

Stryker nodded. ``Hopefully you can catch them before the next time they go to Earthrealm,'' he stated.

Dracula gave a small grunt. ``If they have defied my rule, then they will not go quietly. I will need to call my subjects to aid me. This will take a short while. In the meantime, they will be free to escape to Earthrealm, provided Kahn allows them safe passage again tonight.''

Stryker remembered the carriage he had seen earlier. ``Is their home base near here?'' he asked.

Dracula raised an eyebrow. ``Just down the mountain path, in a cave,'' he replied. ``Why?''

Stryker grumbled. ``Get your people gathered as soon as you can. Kahn's going to send them back across tonight.''

Stryker thought Dracula couldn't look any angrier. He was wrong. ``They will have escaped by the time we get there.''

Stryker nodded, and turned to walk away. ``I know. I'll go see if I can stop them. In the meantime, like I said, get me some backup as soon as you can.''

Author : Scott Bishop

Creation date: 2011-5-27-10-

Modification date: 2011-5-27-10-2